Currently the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) composed of Janjaweed Militiamen are in the midst of a civil war against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). Much of the fighting has been near Khartoum in Darfur. Estimates are that 4.8 million civilians are internally displaced and 1.3 million have fled the country; over 10,000 people have been killed. (Wikipedia)
The killings have been called the Masilit Massacres and have been ongoing since April of 2023. Before the civil war began the RSF were used to quell anti government and ethnic violence between the Masilit and Fula peoples. When the civil war broke out the Janjaweed continued with their old ways. The UN has found mass graves in Darfur. The Masilit were part of a anti government uprising in 2003 and are not Muslims which adds to the tensions.
One of the leaders of the Civil War is Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the transitional government. He is a general in the SAF and took control of the country in a 2019 coup against the elected president. His rival Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (or Hemdti) is the leader of the RSF made up of Janjaweed militias. His fighters were absorbed into the Sudanese Military after fighting in the 2003 Land Cruiser War. They were the “dirty deeds” guys for the Sudanese government.
By October 2007, only the United States government had declared the Janjaweed killings in Darfur to be genocide, since they had killed an estimated 200,000–400,000 civilians over the previous three years. The UN Security Council called for the Janjaweed to be disarmed. On 14 July 2008, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court filed genocide charges against Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, accusing him of masterminding attempts to wipe out African tribes in Darfur with a campaign of murder, rape and deportation Wikipedia
The Janjaweed turned on their masters in April.
Prior to the current uprising, Russia’s Vladimir Putin had been in negotiations with General al-Burhan to gain unlimited access to Sudan’s Red Sea Port and to build a Russian Naval Base there. The transitional government wasn’t keen on the idea. By July it was reported Putin had been turned down and told he would have to deal with the civilian government after free elections were held (Foreign Policy).
Evidence has arisen the Janjaweed RSF was being supported by Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries all the way back in April (CNN). The Russian version of gunboat diplomacy. Odds are ole Vlad will get his Navy Base if Hemdti comes out on top. There will also be no return to civilian rule.
The UN began a mission in Sudan in 2020 called UNITAMS. They have been attempting to help return the country to civilian rule and catalogue atrocities by the Janjaweed of the RSF. On Dec 3, 2023 the UN pulled out of the country at the behest of the transitional government.
Aid teams will remain in Sudan where the UN says nearly 25 million people are in dire need of assistance (Reuters).
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